In the Garden of Good and Evil By Kilian

Happy Valentine’s Day!

In keeping with the spirit, I’m going to review the new trio By Kilian’s The Garden of Good and Evil. All are named to suggest sexual roguery.

First of all, I have to post the copy here, obtained from luckyscent. It’s a marvel:

“For Kilian, an olfactive harmony always begins with a story. In this new collection, it is the myth of original sin which is found at the heart of the narrative – a classical theme whose interpretations punctuate art in all of its forms. Here, the world of perfume enters into the garden of Eden and shows us another side of the story, leading us away from the well-known representations and allowing us to understand it now by breathing in its delights.

A collection as a promise of forbidden pleasure. A collection that invites us to succumb to our most secret desires, breaking through time back to the entrance in the garden of Eden. An entrance which begins by a rendezvous in The City of Sin, the beginning of a forbidden passage, the place of shadowy sensory delights that tantalizes and seduces us in the Kilian collections.”

Ok, now that that’s all said and done, here’s the perfume reviews, with relevant pictures included. I’ll also include a note list copied from Fragrantica, since my perceptions are pretty different.

In the City of Sin

Jan Brueghel the Elder “Sodom and Gomorrah”

Note List: Top notes are bergamot, pink pepper and guatemalan cardamom; middle notes are apricot, plum, turkish rose and incense; base notes are atlas cedar and patchouli.

To me, this is a cedarwood version of Liaisons Dangereuses, my favorite By Kilian. It has the dark rose, the plum, and the cedar trick that, in my opinion, sullies it. Patty from PerfumePosse can smell cumin in this, and therefore finds it more exciting than I do.

My Rating: 5

Good Girl Gone Bad

Note List: Top notes are jasmine, osmanthus and may rose; middle notes are indian tuberose and narcissus; base notes are amber and cedar.

To me it’s is a big slutty mix of white flowers. In descending order, I smell gardenia, tuberose, jasmine, and ylang. It smells so much better than Michael by Michael Kors. It kind of reminds me of Estee Lauder’s Tuberose Gardenia. Good Girl Gone Bad is huge, lush, natural, and good work. She’s very femmey, but I fail to see how she was good in the first place.

My Rating: 6.5

Forbidden Games

Note List: Top notes are apple, peach, plum and cinnamon; middle notes are bulgarian rose, bourbon geranium and jasmine; base notes are vanilla, honey and opoponax.

I like this one. When I first put it on I noticed a big dose of bergamot. After that came the rose, and after that came the candy. If you pay attention you’ll notice a flurry of fruit notes, most notably apple. I smell a little bit of oatmeal in this. I guess that’s the cinnamon. So what you have is a big candied oatmeal with fruit and light bergamot. It’s like hell served on a platter in the best way possible.

My Rating: 7

By Kilian’s perfumes are pretty minimalist, and made with good materials. Sometimes it’s a hit and other times it’s a miss. I’d go with the last one here, but sign up for their mailing list. They’re excellent about sending samples.

Perfumer: Calice Becker (for all 3)
Price Range: Very Expensive
Recommended Occasion: Casual
Release Year: 2012